Read the Signs
by Saturn Angels
Summary: Miyu/Larva. AU. Miyu and two of her college friends move to LA where they find a strange book that teleports them to a totally different world. Where of course they meet Larva, Garline, etc. and have to face many dangers before they can return home.
1. The Beginning

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List of Characters:  
  
Miyu - Moves to a little town where she finds a strange book. She reads it and appears inside it as the main female character.  
  
Larva - A person Miyu meets in the Book that she begins to…er...like.  
  
Diana - Miyu's friend from college who follows her everywhere. She also appears in the Book as the main female character's companion and best friend.  
  
Jacqueline - A character Miyu, Diana, and Sara encounter in the Book who is in love with Larva, she is obsessed with him and soon becomes Miyu's enemy  
  
Garline - Larva's friend; Diana falls in love with him though she's not sure if he feels the same.  
  
Chisato - Enemy to Jacqueline, she stalks Larva and is possibly equally as obsessed with him as Jacqueline is.  
  
Sara - A friend of Miyu's and Diana's from college who also follows into the Book. She's the odd one in both worlds, mainly because the way she dresses, what music she listens to (heavy metal, death metal, hard rock), and how she acts (split personalities, moody) She appears as Miyu and Diana's companion, Diana's best friend.  
  
Lilith - Garline's old girlfriend. Obsessed with him, and will do anything to have him no matter what the price.  
  
Terraceles - the Goddess of Wisdom, keeper and guardian of the Book. Appears in any form to people to hand them the curse or gift of the Book.  
  
…And some other characters I'll add =D  
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Disclaimer: Don't own Vampire Princess Miyu…there I said it *breaks down crying* and Hotel California is … belongs to the Eagles  
  
Author Note: …umm…this is an A/U fic. LARVA/MIYU k? k.  
  
Ages:   
  
Miyu: 22  
Larva: 27  
Sara: 22  
Diana: 23  
Garline: 28  
Jacqueline: 24  
Lilith: 26  
  
  
READ THE SIGNS  
CHAPTER ONE  
BY:  
Fantasy Girl (Saturn Angels)  
  
  
Miyu sighed as she looked around her everything was in place. The boxes were all set correctly in the moving van. Nothing was left in the house besides possibly some things that couldn't be removed, such as the walls. She wiped off the bit of sweat that had remained on her brow for about an hour and lifted her hair up from her damp neck allowing the soft breeze to cool her down a bit  
  
Sara suddenly walked up and slung one arm around Diana's shoulder, "Hah…finally done packing all that crap"  
  
Diana only nodded in response to Sara's comment.  
  
Miyu sighed sadly and looked back at her family's house, her parents had died two years earlier and Diana and Sara had come to live with her during their college years. Now they were moving to a small town in the United States to start a small business together.   
  
Diana noticed what Miyu was doing and walked up to her with a reassuring smile, "Don't worry Miyu-chan…everything will be alright. Everything"  
  
Miyu nodded, "Well everyone ready to go? We have a long trip!"  
  
"How are we going to drive from here to Los Angel…Angeles?" Sara asked looking at their car and their moving van.   
  
"We're going in airplane and that stuff," she pointed to the moving van with all of their possessions packed away in boxes, "Will arrive by boat a couple days later.  
  
Sara nodded, "Oh…I get it"  
  
Diana smiled and rolled her eyes, "Alright from here we drive to Tokyo Airport…then the car will also be taken by boat to Los Angeles, then from there we're gonna go to one of Los Angeles' suburbs"  
  
Sara grinned broadly, "I get to drive, since it is my car," she added pointing to the shiny, metallic red, gorgeous McLaren F1.  
  
Miyu and Diana shrugged; they never got to drive anyway.  
  
Some time later…  
  
"Now, my precious…go with the nice people onto the boat," cooed Sara to her car causing other people to stare at her.  
  
Diana coughed and looked around, "Sara…hurry up the plane will be boarding soon…"  
  
Sara pretended to sniffle as she left the car, "Alright. Fine let's go, the sooner we leave the sooner I see my car again"  
  
"Actually you wo-" Miyu was cut off abruptly be a jab to the side.  
  
"Yes, yes whatever, let's just go"  
  
Some more time later…  
  
Sara, Miyu, and Diana sat on the plane, bored. Miyu was reading a magazine, Diana was looking out the window, and Sara played with the back of the seat in front of her.  
  
The PA came on momentarily stopping everyone's movements, "As requested by one of our first class passengers we will be playing 'Hotel California' by the Eagles as this plane is headed to Los Angeles. Enjoy the flight"  
  
Sara stopped playing with the food tray as she listened to the song.  
  
On a dark desert highway   
Cool wind in my hair   
Warm smell of colitas   
Rising up through the air   
Up ahead in the distance   
I saw a shimmering light   
My head grew heavy, and my sight grew dim   
I had to stop for the night   
  
"Is this going to be a scary song?" Asked Sara worriedly, "Just shut up and listen," she told herself while she rolled her eyes. Now this normally would've made people think she was a freak but Miyu and Diana both knew she only woke up her split personality when she was bored, extremely bored.  
  
There she stood in the doorway   
I heard the mission bell   
And I was thinking to myself   
This could be Heaven or this could be Hell   
Then she lit up a candle   
And she showed me the way   
There were voices down the corridor   
I thought I heard them say   
Welcome to the Hotel California   
Such a lovely place   
Such a lovely place (background)   
Such a lovely face   
Plenty of room at the Hotel California   
Any time of year   
Any time of year (background)   
You can find it here   
Her mind is Tiffany twisted   
She's got the Mercedes bends   
She's got a lot of pretty, pretty boys   
That she calls friends   
How they dance in the courtyard   
Sweet summer sweat   
Some dance to remember   
Some dance to forget   
So I called up the Captain   
Please bring me my wine   
He said   
We haven't had that spirit here since 1969   
And still those voices are calling from far away   
Wake you up in the middle of the night   
Just to hear them say   
Welcome to the Hotel California   
Such a lovely Place   
Such a lovely Place (background)   
Such a lovely face   
They're livin' it up at the Hotel California   
What a nice surprise   
What a nice surprise (background)   
Bring your alibis  
Mirrors on the ceiling   
Pink champagne on ice   
And she said   
We are all just prisoners here   
Of our own device   
And in the master's chambers   
They gathered for the feast   
They stab it with their steely knives   
But they just can't kill the beast   
Last thing I remember   
I was running for the door   
I had to find the passage back to the place I was before   
Relax said the night man   
We are programmed to receive   
You can check out any time you like   
But you can never leave   
  
"That would suck," Sara said nodding to herself.  
  
Diana and Miyu stared at her questioningly then just shrugged.  
  
Sara sighed and put her feet on the headrest of the seat in front of her and fell asleep.  
  
--L.A.--  
  
Sara looked around excitedly once they reached Los Angeles, "We're here! Finally!" She smiled and stood there for a few seconds continuing to look around her, "Where's my car?" She asked worriedly after about half a minute of waiting.  
  
"…It won't be arriving until…two days from now," Diana said sweatdropping.   
  
Sara's eyes widened as she began hyperventilating, "M-My car! No! Two days? How could you lie to me?" She yelled angrily.  
  
Diana sweatdropped, "Well we never lied, since we never told you it would be here by the time we got here…"  
  
Sara continued looking around, still hyperventilating, "It's 1:30 AM and we have no car…in Los Angeles?" She cried clearly pissed off.  
  
Diana shuffled her feet nervously; "…we could get a cab over here…"  
  
Sara shook her head, "Oh no. No way, we do not trust these damn cab drivers! They steal all the time! We're walking to the hotel!" She cried angrily.  
  
"Sara…let me remind you, we have nothing that they can steal…and on the streets we could be killed or worse"  
  
Sara sighed defeated "Fine…go and call a damn taxi"  
  
Diana did and soon enough they had a taxi and were headed to Miyako hotel.  
  
Once they arrived they all got out and paid the driver and walked inside to ask for a room.  
  
"One room please…two beds," Miyu said to the guy at the counter.  
  
He nodded, "Hai, hai," ("Yes, yes") He went and got the key to the room, "Second floor. Room 202"  
  
Miyu nodded, "Arigatou gozaimasu" ("Thanks you very much") and they all walked to the room they were directed to.  
  
They all entered the room, after Sara had trouble with opening the door, and Miyu and Diana each walked over to separate beds.  
  
Sara looked around noting one thing, "…And what about me? Where's my bed?"  
  
Miyu pointed to the couch lazily.  
  
Sara stared at it, "You have got to be joking…"  
  
"No, we're not joking. We don't have enough room for you. You'll just have to make do. Here, I'll give you the fluffy pillow," Diana added tossing Sara a pillow.  
  
Sara took it then put it on the couch angrily, "Fine. But since you decided to torture me in this way…I have control over the TV…" She quickly grabbed the remote and clicked the little red button causing the television to turn on.   
  
"And just in…" A news reporter said suddenly reading from a piece of paper he was just handed, "a transport ship coming from Tokyo to Los Angeles sank. All possessions were lost…"  
  
Sara laughed, "Man I feel sorry for whoever had their stuff on that ship…"  
  
Diana and Miyu continued staring at the screen looking as if they were going to go into shock.  
  
"?" Sara looked at them questioningly then turned back to the screen.  
  
"One of the items lost was almost priceless, a red metallic McLaren F1. And that's all the news for today. Joanne will now tell us the weather forecast for tomorrow."  
  
Sara stared at the screen gasping, "B…But? …M…My car!" She began hyperventilating as she continued to stare at the screen.  
  
Miyu and Diana both sweatdropped and Miyu tried to calm Sara down by saying, "Maybe someone else had a red metallic McLaren F1 that was on a ship from Tokyo to Los Angeles?"  
  
Sara stared at Miyu hopefully, then the news reporter once again interrupted them, "The license plate number was: SAR 222"  
  
Sara began bawling, "That's my license plate!"  
  
"How can you tell? Maybe yours was… 222 SAR?" Diana said sweatdropping and scratching the back of her head nervously.  
  
Sara stared at her blankly, "…uh…no," she said simply then thought for a moment as an evil grin made itself presentable on her face, "I swear…I will have my revenge!"  
  
Lightning flashed in the background and thunder boomed.  
  
They stared at her, crickets chirping, "Sara? You feeling alright?" Diana asked waving a hand in front of her face.  
  
Sara sweatdropped, "Uh…yea, fine. Fine, just perfect…besides the fact that my car is at the bottom of the ocean!" She screamed furiously.  
  
"Sara…calm down" Diana said holding her hands in front of herself trying to calm her down.  
  
Sara glared, "Nothing can calm me down! I lost one of the most precious things in the world right now I-"  
  
Miyu cut her off holding out a hand to silence her, "You can have my bed I'll sleep on the couch,"  
  
Sara brightened considerably, "Okay!"  
  
"See? That made you forget about your car…" Diana said smiling a bit.  
  
Sara exploded again, "I will never forget!! This is just temporary calmness!! Do you know how much that car COST?" She shouted furiously.  
  
Miyu sweatdropped, "Sara calm down, everyone in the hotel can hear you…"  
  
"I don't care! It cost one million one hundred thirty thousand AMERICAN dollars!" She cried frantically as she buried her hands in her pale purple hair. "…One million…in American dollars!" she began bawling again, "I'll never have that much money again! Ever!"  
  
Diana sighed, "Sara. Shut up and sleep, it's two a.m. and I'm tired! So just sleep…maybe you'll wake up and we'll be in Tokyo and this was all a dream…"  
  
Sara sniffled, "Okay…" she mumbled as she crawled into her bed and fell asleep.  
  
Miyu and Diana sighed relieved, and they too fell to the will of the Sandman.  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
Vale: To be continued!!!  
Fantasy Girl: r/r! Pwease? *sniffles for sympathy*  
Vince: *slap* Snap out of it man!  
Fantasy Girl: sorry! -_-; anyways! review and tell me what you think! *wink*  
  
R/R! 


	2. The Book

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Princess Miyu. Someday I will! Really...I will! .. ...Honest! You just watch! ^_~  
  
Author Note: once again, this is an A/U fanfic! ^_^ and it's Larva/Miyu.. ...so...there.  
  
Ages:   
  
Miyu: 22  
Larva: 27  
Sara: 22  
Diana: 23  
Garline: 28  
Jacqueline: 24  
Lilith: 26  
  
READ THE SIGNS  
CHAPTER TWO  
BY:  
Fantasy Girl (Saturn Angels)  
L.A. - the next morning...  
  
Sara woke up last to see Miyu and Diana already dressed…though they never really had to change since all their belongings were lost. Sara groaned as she realized she hadn't dreamt the whole thing.  
  
"Come on Sara, get up…we have to go and get everything we'll be needing. Including a house…books, furniture, cooking stuff, food, a car," Diana said listing all the things they would need.  
  
Sara sighed gloomily and got out of bed, "Alright…how are we going to get all the shopping done? With what money?"  
  
"We're going to split up, I have a bank account here." Miyu said as she began walking out, Diana and Sara followed her.  
  
"Alright, do we already have the money?" Sara asked as she rolled up her long sleeve shirt.  
  
"Yes, we got the money while you were sleeping, it's alright noon. And here's the plan… Sara you get the car and the house. We know you'll choose well. Miyu will get the books and furniture and other items necessary to keep us busy. And I will get the cooking stuff and the food. All clear?" Diana said as they each called separate taxis.   
  
"Hai." Miyu and Sara said in unison and they all went different directions to get what they needed.  
  
Hours later…  
  
Sara picked Miyu and Diana up in her new car, a black Ferrari F355 and drove them to their new house, a good-sized two story house five bedrooms, four bathrooms, and some other things. The house was empty as they had no furniture yet, it would be delivered the next day. Miyu set down a bunch of books and other things and Diana went straight to the kitchen to store the plates in the cabinets, the house came with a refrigerator so she piled the food in there and began cooking dinner, it was already seven p.m. in Los Angeles.  
  
"What did you get Miyu?" Sara asked as she sat down on one sleeping bag that Miyu had gotten, she'd gotten three sleeping bags and four pillows.   
  
"Some books, some CDs both the ones that Diana and I like, and the ones you like. Metallica and I think Maiden Iron?"  
  
"Iron Maiden." Sara corrected grinning.  
  
"Yes, and some books, horror, fantasy, romance, action, everything else."  
  
"What's this one about?" Sara asked as she picked out a big, bronze, leather book.   
  
"I don't know. Some lady on the streets gave it to me…" Miyu said as she looked at the book Sara was holding in her hand.  
  
"Should we read it?" Sara asked interested since there was no title.  
  
Miyu shrugged, "Sure. Read it out loud so I can hear too"  
  
Sara nodded, "Alrighty. Here it goes" She opened the book to the first page, which read:  
  
"Thee, mortal have been bestowed one of the greatest gifts, or greatest curses ever by the Goddess Terraceles. Be prepared now to enter a world of fantasy, myth, adventure, curses, romance, witchcraft, death, and triumph; thou hast been chosen to save a world other then your own…"  
  
Sara raised an eyebrow and suddenly began laughing, "What a stupid introduction!" she laughed louder, "Shall we read more?" before Miyu even responded there was a loud clash from the kitchen. Miyu and Sara looked at each other briefly before Miyu ran to the kitchen to see what had happened. Sara stayed behind waiting for Miyu to return; she read a bit more of the book.  
  
"Do not fear. A great journey is to begin…"  
  
Miyu looked around the empty kitchen; empty except for a pot lying upside down on the floor and the silver spoon next to it. There was no Diana, Miyu looked frantically around her and ran back to where Sara was. Once she entered the room she realized Sara was no where to be found, the book was lying half open on the ground and there was no sign of Sara, "…Sara? Diana?" Miyu called looking around herself wildly. "Sara!" she suddenly felt a tingling sensation below her feet and looked down to see a strange white portal. Before she had time even to scream the void engulfed her and she blacked out.  
  
She awoke to find herself in a dark forest, Diana and Sara looking at her worriedly.  
  
"Diana? Sara? …What happened?" Miyu asked as she sat up.  
  
Sara sighed a bit, "Maybe it has something to do with that book, Miyu?" she asked quietly.  
  
Miyu looked at her skeptically, but there really wasn't any other explanation.  
  
"First off, now that we're all here and awake. We have to find people…and let's hope that they aren't cannibals or violent." Diana said.  
  
"I bet you this was that book's doing! It was the book!" Sara said triumphantly.  
  
Diana looked at Sara as if she were stupid, "Maybe we're all just having the same dream?"  
  
"At any rate shouldn't we try to find people?" Miyu suggested as she stood and brushed her pants off.  
  
They began walking towards a direction which they could only guess was north.  
  
Some time later…  
  
"Look there's a village!" Sara cried finally after about two hours of walking.  
  
"Sara…that's not a village…those are a bunch of trees…" Diana said slowly so Sara would understand, "Now, behind the trees you can see a city, can you say city?"  
  
There was silence when Diana finally realized what she said.  
  
"City!!" Sara cried and began running towards it.  
  
Miyu and Diana followed suit though they weren't crying 'City!' at the top of their lungs.  
  
"Hey, this is a book right?" Miyu asked while running, Diana nodded, "Well…couldn't this be…"  
  
Before she could even finish her sentence, Sara tripped over an uplifted root and a net came from seemingly from nowhere and tied them up to the tree.  
  
"…a trap." Miyu finished with a sigh.  
  
"So…what do we do?" Diana asked calmly.  
  
"Help! Help! Help!! Hello! Is anyone listening? I said HELP!" Sara cried frantically. As there was nothing but the silence and birds chirping Sara looked around fearfully, "The walls are closing in…"  
  
"What?" Miyu and Diana asked in unison.  
"The walls…you see? Look, notice that the sides are kind of lopsided and little bits of plaster is falling off of the ceiling?"  
"Sara…there are no walls…this is a net…" Miyu said looking at Sara strangely.  
  
"…You're just saying that so I won't freak out!!" Sara yelled, "HELP! EVEN IF YOU'RE CANNIBALS! HELP! THE WALLS ARE CLOSING IN!!" she rethought her words, "Never mind! You cannibals be gone! I have a uh…Miyu and I'm not afraid to use her!"  
  
Miyu sweatdropped, "Sara are you feeling alright?"  
  
"…Yeah, fine…why do you ask?"  
  
They sweatdropped and prayed that they would be let out by someone, something, anything so long as it was soon.  
  
Sara sighed and began to preoccupy herself, "Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall…ninety-nine bottles of beer…you take one down pass it around, ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall…"  
  
Miyu and Diana looked at Sara horrified and tried desperately to get out of the net.  
  
One hour later…  
  
"Forty-four bottles of beer on the wall, forty-four bottles of beer! Take one down pass it around, forty-three bottles of beer on the wall!" Sara, Miyu, and Diana sang in unison. Hey, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!  
  
"Forty-three bottles of-" Their singing was rudely cut off by a distant,  
  
"SHUT UP!"  
  
They all blinked and looked at each other and began screaming, "HELP!!!"  
  
And there was silence.  
  
"Now I lost count! Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall…ninety-nine bottles of beer…" Sara began again.  
  
Miyu and Diana let out a groan of protest, "Not again!" they cried angrily.   
  
Three hours later…after many instances where Sara lost count of the bottles due to the constant complaints of Diana.  
  
"One bottle of beer on the wall, one bottle of beer! Take one down…" yawn, "Pass it around … …" Sara paused slightly and to the relief of Miyu and Diana got to zero, "no more bottles of beer on the wall!" she finished.  
  
Miyu and Diana sighed in relief and sat there in silence for a few seconds…but that silence was offensively interrupted by…  
  
"Now that I've got from 99 to none…how about we sing a different song?" Sara asked quietly.  
  
'How about we don't sing at all,' Miyu thought shaking her head slightly.  
  
"This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friends! Some people started singing it not knowing what it was, but they'll just…keep on singing it forever just because!"  
  
Miyu and Diana whined a little and Diana took off her combat boot and threw it at Sara, "Shut up already!"  
  
Sara looked at Diana harshly, "How dare you criticize my singing?"  
  
Diana rolled her eyes, "Is that what you call it? Singing?", then thought for a moment, "…Hey…I still have my pocket knife!!"  
  
"And you didn't remember that until now, why?" Miyu asked.  
  
Diana shrugged and pulled out her Swiss army knife which was hidden in the boot that; fortunately…or unfortunately, she didn't throw at Sara.  
  
"That's a pocket knife?" Sara asked looking at the blade which was closer to a dagger then to a pocket knife.  
  
"Well…it folds in and stuff…so…yeah." Diana said then shrugged, "Anyway, hold on…I'm going to cut us out from the bottom."  
  
"Why the bottom?" Miyu asked watching Diana cut each little piece of rope at a time.  
  
Diana shrugged a bit, "I don't know, I just felt like cutting there, if it was from the sides then we'd have to climb out and could wind up getting hurt."  
  
Miyu raised an eyebrow at Diana.  
  
Diana remained silent and the only sounds heard were those of the knife cutting through the rope. "There, that should do it! She put her Swiss army knife away and stood up as much as possible, "AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!" The three girls fell through the hole at the same time and landed on the dirt path with a loud thud.   
  
"That was really smart, Diana-chan." Miyu said from her place beneath everyone, and then added, "I'd really like it if you all would get off me. I'm beginning to suffocate!"  
  
"Seriously Sara! How long has it been since you exercised!" Diana asked as she tried to get out of the tangle.  
  
"Look who's talking fatty!"  
  
"Fatty!!?" Diana repeated becoming angrier by the minute.  
  
"One too many chocolate bars, hmm?" Sara continued until Diana's knee firmly hit her jaw.  
  
"…P-Point taken." Sara mumbled before shaking her head to orient herself again.  
  
Miyu gasped from underneath them, "Hello. Suffocating protagonist here."  
  
"I'll only get off once you says who's fatter, me or Diana?" Sara asked stubbornly.  
  
"…" Miyu shook her head and rolled her eyes, "Diana: you weigh 125 pounds! 125!!!! And Sara you weight 115 because you're three inches shorter than Diana! NOW GET OFF!"  
  
They tried to oblige but ended up giving Miyu and themselves a few bruises to remember in the morning.   
  
Suddenly Sara sat down once everyone had gotten untangled, "I-I think I'm having a nervous breakdown."   
  
Diana stared down at the usually most adaptable of the group, "Come on Sara! Don't get all moody and suicidal on us now!"  
  
"I-I can't accept this! We're in a different world! How do we get back!?" Sara asked through loud sobs.  
  
Diana kneeled next to Sara and slapped her, "Listen! If you have to pretend this is a dream, then do it!! Stop babbling! Just stop it!"  
  
Sara sat stunned, her left hand cradling her cheek, "You're so cruel…Hidoi desu (You're cruel)!!!!" Sara shouted before standing and running to hug Miyu.  
  
Miyu blink and patted the girl awkwardly, "Let's just move on, shall we?"  
  
Sara sniffled a few times before nodding her head and pulling away from Miyu.  
  
"Move on to what?"  
  
At first Miyu thought it was Diana speaking, "The town of course." Her brows furrowed in confusion though as she realized Diana hadn't spoken. "Who's there?" she asked then whirled around to look behind her, nobody.  
  
"Over here." Said the female voice, and Miyu turned and almost collided with the person speaking.  
  
"Watch it! Geez! And to your previous question…" the woman gave a low bow, her long ruby red hair spilling over her shoulders during her one fluid motion. She straightened and looked straight at Miyu, "My name is Jacqueline. Close friends call me Jackie, so…call me Jacqueline." Jacqueline said, mocking humor shining in her light gray eyes.  
  
Sara glared at the girl and clenched her jaw, "Well obviously you have something important to say or else you wouldn't have stopped us. Or did you just want to introduce yourself?"  
  
Jacqueline's gaze shifted to Sara, her head didn't turn to look directly at her- but her piercing stare could rival that of a basilisk. "Quite the contrary, Sara." She smirked insultingly at the look on Sara's face, "I have come to stop you. Giving you my name was just a bonus."  
  
"Stop us?" Miyu asked confused as to what this woman was talking about. Obviously she must have been misled…  
  
"Stop us from what?" Sara asked, equally confused.  
  
Jacqueline smiled, "Stop you from doing everything you are destined to do."  
  
"Oh, that's lucid." Diana said sarcastically as she pulled out her 'pocket-knife'. "I have no clue what you're talking about- we've only just arrived."  
  
Jacqueline shook her head, "The time is near. Terraceles is becoming impatient."  
  
Miyu paused, 'Terraceles? That sounds familiar…' She shrugged the feeling off however knowing that it wasn't wise to think about things at that time.  
  
"Jackie! Have you found them? The intruders to our realm?" asked a skimpily clad blonde as she ran into the area, she stopped immediately as she saw Miyu, Diana, and Sara. "I'll take that as a yes! Let's take them to Sir Garline right away!"  
  
Jacqueline turned to look at the blonde, "Lilith! So glad you could join us. And as you can see I've found them. I have it under control."  
  
"But miss-"  
  
"Stop trying to be helpful, Lilith. You're not good at it."  
  
Lilith frowned and anger was evident in her stance and she said in a dead serious voice, "I'd suggest you not taunt me while your prey that you have 'under control' runs away."  
  
Jacqueline face-faulted, "What?" she spun around quickly to see the empty place where they once stood. "Lilith let's go!"  
  
Silence.  
  
"Lilith?" Jacqueline turned to see that she too was gone. "Damn!" she cursed before running towards the town-they were sure to go there.  
  
Somewhere close by…  
  
"Where are we going?" Sara asked panting as she tried to keep up with the other girls.  
  
"To town." Diana said running as fast as she could.  
  
"Wouldn't they expect that?" Miyu asked pointing out what she saw as obvious.  
  
"Perhaps." Diana replied, "But if we get there before them then we find places to hide- there will probably be crowds of people there making it harder for them to find us."  
  
"I see."  
  
Somewhere close by to them…  
  
"Thank goddess I know a shortcut…" Jacqueline said to herself as she ran through the woods.  
  
-----------------------------------  
Fantasy Girl: See? Slightly longer chapter for your long wait! ^_^ my apologies by the way! So…if you've bothered to read it you may as well R/R! 


	3. Many Meetings

Disclaimer: I still don't own Vampire Princess Miyu or any of the characters in the anime/manga. 

Agh, I really meant to update earlier now that it's the summer holidays, but I ended up taking a vacation to Greece, France and Italy for the better part of three weeks. But, I'm back and... sorry this took so long if you all are still reading.

Ages:

Miyu: 22  
Larva: 27  
Sara: 22  
Diana: 23  
Garline: 28  
Jacqueline: 24  
Lilith: 26

READ THE SIGNS  
CHAPTER THREE  
BY:  
Fantasy Girl (Saturn Angels)

Miyu, Sara and Diana reached the town expecting to see at least a little life in the area. But alas, the entire place seemed like a ghost town. As if it had been abandoned for years.

"So much for hiding in the crowds." Miyu mumbled dejectedly as there were obviously no crowds to hide in.

"Well we're definitely going to be found now." Sara said with a stomp of her foot, seconds away from throwing a tantrum, "Great going Diana."

"Well, we won't go down with a fight. You took a year of martial arts didn't you Sara?" Diana asked solemnly.

Sara gave Diana a look that clearly said, 'You're the one with the knife.' "Well yes, but you were there too. And I didn't learn anything really, I just goofed off and made fun of the instructor behind his back."

Diana scrunched up her face as she tried to recall those years, "Ah yes, I remember. And he caught you that one time and you had to clean the entire dojo with a toothbrush."

"No, that was that other girl Musume."

"Then what did you have to do?" Diana asked, her memory obviously failing her.

"She had to do the chicken dance in front of everyone by herself everyday for a week after class," Miyu mentioned seeing that Sara wasn't about to remind Diana of that. "But that's not important, we're wasting time- we have to figure something out."

"Always pushy aren't you Miyu?" Sara asked jokingly, but she did realize that the situation wasn't really in their favor and they couldn't waste any more time than they already had.

"We could hide in one of the houses." Diana suggested, running out of ideas before even having proper time to brainstorm.

"No, then it'd just be like hide and seek, we'd eventually be found." Miyu shook her head, but now that they'd practically cornered themselves there wasn't much they could do.

"Well there is hide and seek tag, you know where you run once you're foun-" Sara was silenced by Miyu's stern look. "I'll take that as a no, but what about the voices we heard from this direction earlier? Weren't there people here before?"

"It must've been in a different direction. Or perhaps we were delirious, but come on you two! Think!"

"I say we hide for now, it really does us no good to simply stand where we could easily be spotted." Diana pointed out.

"Two points to Diana for making the first useful suggestion!" Sara beamed. The trio looked around for the building with the least windows, and soon found one with a wooden sign hanging above the door. The sign was old, but one could just barely make out the word 'PUB' carved into it.

They hurried inside, hiding behind the bar where they couldn't be seen from the outside. "Are we even sure they're really dangerous?" Sara whispered quietly.

Miyu looked over at Sara and replied in a voice quieter than Sara's, "Oh, you can be the one to find out if you want. Look, they didn't exactly come waving a white flag saying they came in peace, now did they? Plus, why did they come looking for us?"

"To stop us, is what that Jacqueline person said." Diana pointed out, "Which obviously means she's out to harm us."

"Well, it could mean she's trying to stop us from hurting ourselves, or ruining our lives, or something."

"Do you even believe what you're saying?" Diana asked and Sara thought for a moment before shaking her head in the negative, "Then let's just figure out how to get out of this mess, or at least avoid it for a little while longer."

Miyu opened her mouth to speak before her eyes narrowed and she remained silent for a few seconds. Her two companions watched her curiously, Diana knew not to speak whereas Sara didn't get the hint.

"What is I-" before she finished her sentence she was shushed by Diana's hand over her mouth and the door to the pub swung open.

The three waited silently, holding their breath anxiously hoping whoever it was would go away. Because more likely than not they weren't there to help or buy them a drink (unless it was poisoned).

"I know you three are in here." the person finally spoke, and to their confusion it certainly wasn't a female voice.

But then again it could be a trick, this was a different world after all. Anything was possible. It was most likely magic of some sort.

They stayed still, willing their hearts to beat just a little quieter.

The footsteps seemed to be getting further away and finally they heard a masculine, "Hm.." and then the pub door opened and closed again.

Now, it was obviously a trap and Diana and Miyu knew it well so they remained silent not thinking to stop their friend before she sighed loudly, releasing the breath she'd been holding. "Phew!" Sara smiled sheepishly, "That was a close one wasn't it?"

Diana and Miyu both moved forward to muffle Sara's voice, hoping that it hadn't been a trap. But if it was they were considering leaving Sara as a peace offering.

It finally dawned on Sara what exactly had happened. Her face paled and she looked rather like a deer in the headlights, only... less animal-y.

Everything seemed to happen at once, the sound of quick footsteps and then there was a tall figure standing above them.

At least he seemed tall, but that wasn't certain seeing as they were all sitting down.

"You three are lucky I'm not your enemy." the man said without even a proper introduction, "Really lucky."

"Who are you?" Diana asked, she had of course meant to say something which sounded a lot more intelligent but the words just didn't present themselves.

Probably because of how handsome the stranger happened to be.

The man flashed a charming smile and Diana nearly swooned, Miyu rolled her eyes, and Sara really didn't know what was going on. She was still in a bit of shock. "My name is Larva," he said, "and I'm here to help you."

"Look, we don't need a bodyguard." Miyu said, agitated for some reason she couldn't explain. She didn't think she was going to get along too well with this 'Larva'.

"We don't?" Diana asked, giving Miyu a strange look.

Larva gave Miyu a critical look, then seemed to understand a little too well. "Ah, well. If that's the case I'll just leave you three here to be found by Jacqueline and Lilith. Nice meeting you three, and I wish you the best of luck staying alive long enough for us to meet again." He gave a small salute-like wave and began walking away.

The footfalls were the only things breaking the dramatic silence.

"Wait!" Miyu called out which startled Sara into snapping out of her own little world. "Where did you plan to take us?" she asked nervously, standing up from their hiding spot.

Yeah, he was tall all right.

He looked amused, "Changed your mind have you?"

Miyu frowned, "I'd just like to know my options before blindly walking into something."

Diana stood up after Miyu as did Sara though she had a bit more trouble, banging her head on the counter top before standing upright, rubbing her scalp with a curse underneath her breath.

"Well, truth be told... ah, sorry I didn't catch your name?"

"Sara." "Diana." came the replies from the two he wasn't giving attention to.

He looked briefly at them with a candid smirk before turning his attention back to Miyu.

"Miyu..." she said slowly, she had considered giving him a false name but her companions had easily disposed of that option.

"Miyu," he repeated, "Nice name, foreign. But I already knew that. Now, what was I saying?"

"Where you were planning on taking us." Sara mentioned helpfully.

"Ah, yes. Truth be told, I am going to take you to the same place Jacqueline planned on taking you, only under different circumstances ." Larva said, waiting for the shocked exclamation or just general doubt.

"Why should we go with you?"asked Diana with a groan, just when they thought they were safe.

"Because I'm charming of course." he said with a smile which nearly made Diana swoon again,

Miyu, becoming annoyed once more, chose to ignore his stupid answer, "What are the different circumstances? Obviously that must be why you think we'd go with you."

"Well, either way you need to see Garline. Believe me, he isn't the bad guy. Far from it actually."

"Good and bad are simply points of view," Miyu said, "And you didn't answer my question."

"Pushy aren't you?" Larva asked in an amused way before becoming serious, "Now, let's get down to business, shall we?" Before waiting for an answer from them he continued, "Let me ask you a simple question, would you rather be with me or two women who act exactly like jealous housewives?"

"I think I'd take my chances with the jealous housewives." Miyu said bitterly.

"Jealous housewives who want to kill you simply because Garline has been ordered to meet with you?" Larva asked.

Miyu frowned and all three of the girls wondered silently to themselves who Garline was, because he was being mentioned far too often to be a background character.

There was a moment of serious silence.

Larva watched them intently as they tried to understand the situation.

"Is your hair naturally that color?" Sara finally asked the question that had been on her mind as soon as she'd taken a good look at him.

Everyone else in the room facefaulted.

"Er, yes, it is." Larva replied, unsure of why he even chose to answer.

"It's pretty and very shiny."

"..." Now, he was proud of his features, but this wasn't the time or place to be complimented.

"So, will you come with me?" he asked again, "It won't be long until they get here."

It was obvious who 'they' were.

It didn't seem very safe to trust Larva, but then again they really had nothing else to do, no clues on how to get out of the strange situation they'd somehow gotten themselves into.

No leads to follow other than the one that kept presenting itself.

"Hold on." Miyu said before calling a huddle between herself, Diana, and Sara. "What do you guys think?"

"I think his hair is gorgeous." Sara said, and at the look the other two shot her she blinked and figured that was the wrong answer, "Well it is... but as for what to do, I'm assuming that's what you meant to ask, I think we should follow him."

"What, to find out what shampoo he uses?" Diana asked skeptically.

"Guys, we don't have time. What do we do?" Miyu asked, growing more and more impatient.

"I say we follow him." Diana said, "I mean... we can't really do anything else now can we?" she asked, voicing Miyu's earlier thoughts.

"We need to find a way home." Sara said worriedly, she had in fact been worrying about everything the entire time. She had just taken Diana's earlier advice and tried to think of it as a dream. She couldn't keep it up anymore though, she had to face facts... at least at a more conscious level.

They all turned to face Larva at the same time, "All right, we've decided. We'll go with you." Sara announced.

"I'm glad you finally decided but I'm afraid it might be harder now than it would have been." Larva said.

Before Diana had the chance to ask why the doors swung open again and in stepped Jacqueline and Lilith.

Out of breath but trying to look composed.

"Hah! You all make so much noise I could have found you... in... " Jacqueline trailed off unable to think of a metaphor, "Well, point is we found you and are going to take you to Garline now."

"I've got it covered Jacqueline." Larva said with an exasperated sigh.

Jacqueline's expression immediately changed as she saw who was with her victims. "Larva!" she said giddily, suppressing a squeal of delight. Her face became a bit more flushed as she fanned herself with a cloth fan she'd seemed to have pulled out of thin air. "I didn't know you were on the mission too! How long has it been since we've spoken?"

"Not long enough," Larva said but Jacqueline showed no sign of hearing.

"Too long, I say." she said reaching out and pulling his hand into hers, "It feels like an eternity."

"Jacqueline, you spoke to Lord Larva this morning." Lilith said from the doorway.

The redhead paid no attention and instead continued speaking to Larva, seemingly forgetting about what she was supposed to be doing, "Larva... you never visit me anymore." she pouted prettily, her gray eyes shining with pure adoration.

"Sorry, I haven't had the time lately. Now, if you'd please go back to the palace I have it all taken care of."

Jacqueline shot a heated glare towards the three girls, a warning sign. "Oh, why don't you go and rest Larva dear? You've had a long day and I can take it from here."

Pulling his hand from her grasp and running it through his light blue hair he repeated his previous statement, "Jacqueline, I have it all taken care of."

She seemed upset to say the least and the cold look she gave to the trio could have frozen a sea of fire, though her expression changed completely as she addressed Larva, "As you wish. I'll wait for you at the palace."

With one final, fleeting look Jacqueline disappeared and Lilith, who looked really annoyed that she'd wasted her time in pursuing the three foreigners rolled her eyes, slammed the door, and presumably disappeared as well.

"Now, shall we be off?" Larva asked with a gallant smile.

Miyu was in an exceptionally bad mood, and the most annoying part about it was she couldn't quite pinpoint why. All she knew was that she couldn't stand Jacqueline and her ... clingyness. It was obvious Larva had no interest in her.

Not that she cared who or what Larva had an interest in.

It just annoyed her to see such a desperately open display of affection which was obviously only one-sided.

Diana clapped Miyu on the shoulder, and the only words she offered were, "I know."

Which only confused Miyu further. What was she talking about? Pushing confusing thoughts away for the moment she looked up at Larva, "Well?"

"I was just waiting for your friend." Larva said politely as he motioned back towards where they had been hiding previously.

Diana sweatdropped at the sight of Sara digging through the cabinets, scavenging and finding half empty alcohol bottles, brands she'd never even heard of before but by the smell of them there was no doubt that they were strong.

Sara took another whiff of the obligatory lime green bottle. Oh yeah. They were most definitely strong.

She didn't usually drown her sorrows, but circumstance was different.

And it was all free too.

"Sara!" Miyu shouted, Sara stood bolt-right, her pockets full of bottles as well as her arms.

"What?" she asked innocently. "They won't miss it, now will they? And there's no reason to be wasteful." Sara trekked slowly to the others. "Are we leaving now?"

Larva nodded, "If you're all ready."

They all nodded and without any warning Larva picked up Miyu bridal-style and told the other two to hang onto him. "If you let go there's no telling where you'll end up." he said, "So... try and hold tight, for your sake."

"How long are we going to be at this palace anywho?" Sara asked as she happily clung to Larva. Diana did the same.

"I don't know." he answered truthfully.

Before anyone could make a smartass comment, which was to be expected, they were moving at an alarming speed. Everyone clung tighter to Larva, even Miyu who had been upset by how she was held. None of them wanted to fall into oblivion.

Never to be seen again.

That'd be a real shame.

They barely had time to get themselves reoriented before they were ushered into a rather expensive looking waiting room, well furnished with gothic-looking furniture and ornaments. Some of it gave off an aura of 'Dangerous. Don't touch.'

So they didn't.

Larva left them in the room and told them to make themselves comfortable as he went to find Garline.

Moments later another man entered accompanied by Larva not too far behind, they assumed (correctly) that this was Garline.

"Sorry to keep you ladies waiting," he said and proceeded to kiss their hands in a very gentlemanly fashion. "If you'll please step inside my study there's something you need to know..."

-  
Fantasy Girl: This was absolute crap, I know. But I just felt like I should give you guys something. It has been... well, a really REALLY long time after all. Please review with comments, thoughts, anything really. I promise to try and not slack so much. Next chapter will be a lot better I promise, I just have to get back in my groove so to speak.


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